Gillespie’s Goal Sends Bentley to 9-8 Win over Stonehill, NE-10 Semifinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Stonehill (9-9) | 2 | 6 | 8 |
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Bentley (13-5) | 5 | 4 | 9 |
WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Kathleen Gillespie (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet) scored the go-ahead goal with 1:32 remaining to lift Bentley to a 9-8 victory over Stonehill and into the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Championship.
Gillespie's goal, off a feed from Kelsey Howard (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough), broke an 8-8 tie. Meredith Hart (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) then won the ensuing draw control, and Bentley was able to run out the clock to clinch a berth in Saturday's semifinal against No. 2 seed Le Moyne. It's also the 11th straight win for Bentley, which was ranked No. 13 in this week's rankings, and extends the school record they've already broken.
The Falcons controlled the first half and led 5-2 at the break. They outshot the visiting Skyhawks 18-7 in the opening 30 minutes. Junior attack Ciara Morley (Irvington, N.Y./Irvington) had two goals in the first 10 minutes. They finished the half strong after Stonehill got to within 3-2 after a goal by attacker Rebecca Matheson at the 4:50 mark. Hart and Erin O'Connor (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) scored over the final 4:20 to give Bentley the 5-2 lead at the break.
Taylor Lunden (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) opened the 2nd half with a goal just over four minutes in to make it 6-2 for the Falcons. But following that goal, Stonehill fought back as the rain started to fall heavily. The Skyhawks ran off five unanswered goals over an eight minute period, and went ahead 7-6 after a man-up goal by Brianna Doherty with 15:09 remaining.
Less than a minute later though, Gillespie tied the game back up with a free-position shot goal. Junior Hannah Lindgren (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin) scored on a free-position shot at the 8:49 mark as Bentley retook the lead 8-7.
After six minutes passed, Stonehill answered back on a goal by Matheson, which tied the game again 8-8 with just 2:47 remaining.
Following Matheson's goal, Hart won the draw control for Bentley, which led to Gillespie's go-ahead goal.
Goalie Lauren Ochs (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) made six saves for Bentley, which is now 13-5 overall on the season. They last played Le Moyne back on March 20 in Syracuse.